Before wrestling redshirt junior Michael McGee came to ASU, he found success at Old Dominion for three years, qualifying for two NCAA tournaments and winning multiple Mid-American Conference titles. His eventual arrival at ASU wasn't out of a want to leave Old Dominion, it was a choice made by force.
At the beginning of April 2020, McGee received news that shocked not only him but the entire Old Dominion athletic department.
The NCAA canceled its wrestling championships just weeks earlier due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. So when McGee received an invite to a Zoom meeting with Old Dominion's athletic director and the wrestling team, he assumed it would be a step forward.
Instead, the team was informed the school was discontinuing the sport entirely.
“I’m thinking it’s like, 'Alright, how (are we) gonna move forward handling COVID?'" McGee said. "I wasn’t really expecting that.”
All wrestlers were immediately eligible to transfer, and McGee was set to go through the recruiting process a second time, this time with the track record of a conference champion at the NCAA level.
Many other schools were lining up for a chance at McGee. His top three choices came down to ASU, Nebraska and Ohio State. While the two Big Ten schools were enticing options, McGee reached out to a childhood friend at ASU for advice.
“He’s been my boy since we were like eight," senior wrestler Kordell Norfleet said. "I’ve always known him and his parents, they were always good people. We got closer in high school.”
Both McGee and Norfleet grew up wrestling against each other in the Chicago area, both in high school and youth programs. Their high schools were separated by just over 40 miles.
With the discontinuation of Old Dominion's wrestling program, McGee and Norfleet had the chance to be on the same team for the first time.
McGee liked how Norfleet progressed as a wrestler from their days in high school, and he reached out to Norfleet to ask about how he liked the ASU program headed by coach Zeke Jones.
“It was another opportunity, I was like, 'I got to cash in,'” Norfleet said. “So when he (McGee) reached out to me and he was looking for a new home, I just told him why I came here and tried to give him my most honest take. I didn’t sugarcoat anything.”
McGee said his relationship with Norfleet and the latter's opinion of ASU's program strongly influenced his decision to come to Tempe. He said coaches at ASU also had been "applying pressure" onto him to make the move.
“He had enough faith in me and the program I’m at," Norfleet said. "He took a leap of faith, I’m glad he’s here.”
Those who knew McGee growing up aren’t surprised to see him succeed at the collegiate level.
Joe Arquilla, McGee’s youth wrestling coach in Illinois, noticed how McGee stood out from the other wrestlers, even at a young age.
Arquilla was only his coach until McGee was in high school. But even after McGee moved up from youth wrestling to the high school level, he didn’t forget where he had come from and continued to make a positive impact on the kids who followed in the program.
“He would come in...and talk to the kids, he’s a good role model for the younger kids,” Arquilla said.
At ASU, McGee's expectations and goals remain the same, and those who know him believe he can achieve them; “Nothing less than a national title,” McGee said.
“We have enough pieces and depth that have been years in the making," Norfleet said. "Rome wasn’t built in a day, this is the Roman Empire we got in Tempe that has a chance to come to fruition."
Reach the reporter at dmwilhe1@asu.edu and follow @dmwilhelm225 on Twitter.
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